The present invention relates to the drawing of synthetic fiber, such as glass fiber, and is particularly concerned with a winder which enables such fibers to be directly drawn into a precision package and provides a constant drawing speed to effect uniform fiber attenuation. The invention is especially directed to such a winder which is ideally suited for use with high-capacity nontip bushings of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,790. Such bushings enable the drawing of sufficiently large quantities of fiber that roving operations may be done away with.
The prior art relating to winders of the type with which the present invention is concerned is believed best exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,547,361, 3,819,122 and 3,897,021. The U.S. Pat. no. 3,547,361 discloses a direct winder wherein a programmed control system is employed to maintain constant strand speed as the package being formed grows. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,122 discloses a direct winder wherein the traverse is fixed and the spindle is mounted for rectilinear movement toward and away from the traverse. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,122 is also significant in that the traverse guide is mounted on a support rod and in that a programmer is provided to slow down the speed of the spindle as the diameter of a package being formed on the spindle increases. The '021 patent is significant in that it discloses a direct winder wherein the traverse is mounted for rectilinear movement relative to the spindle and wherein a control is provided to control spindle speed in response to the sensed size of a package being formed. U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,450 is of interest in that it shows that textile winding machines have also been provided with control means to maintain a constant winding speed as the size of the package being formed grows. In the case of the U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,450 a mechanical disc drive reduces speed in response to package growth.
Although the above-discussed patents are significant, they do not disclose or suggest the improved features of the present invention. In particular, these patents do not suggest the simplified mechanically coupled D.C. motor control employed in the present invention.